Penguin Random House India acquires Hind Pocket Books, to tap into regional markets

In a major announcement, Penguin Random House India today said that it has acquired Hind Pocket Books, one of the oldest and most respected Hindi language publishers in the country.

Established in 1958, the highly regarded Hind Pocket Books are widely considered as pioneers in publishing Hindi and Urdu paperbacks in India, and have an impressive list of critically acclaimed and commercially successful titles. They have published some of the most renowned authors from the subcontinent and across the world, including Amrita Pritam, Shivani, Acharya Chatursen, Gulshan Nanda, Narendra Kohli, Khushwant Singh, R K Narayan, Dr Radhakrishnan, Dominique Lapierre, Osho, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ruzbeh Bharucha, Wayne Dyer, to name a few, and their titles and authors have won several prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, the Sahitya Akademi Awards, and the Jnanpith Award.

The acquisition of Hind Pocket Books will build further on Penguin Random House India’s presence in local language publishing, to which it has been committed for over a decade. Penguin began its Hindi publishing programme in India in 2005, and has built a significant catalogue of acclaimed titles over the years.

Nandan Jha, Senior Vice President, Penguin Random House India will in his expanded role take on the added portfolio of building the Indian language publishing programme, in addition to heading sales and product for the company. Vaishali Mathur, previously responsible for Indian Language Publishing and Rights at Penguin Random House India will with immediate effect be Editor-in-Chief of Hind Pocket Books, and will also continue to build her English language publishing programme.

Markus Dohle, Chef Executive Officer, Penguin Random House said, “We are thrilled to welcome Hind Pocket Books to the Penguin Random House global family of publishers. Our operations in India have been a success story for us, and this acquisition represents our commitment to expand our local-language publishing as we continue to implement our global strategy of growing in our key markets such as India."

He further added, "I congratulate our Penguin Random House India CEO Gaurav Shrinagesh, and I thank Mr. Shekhar Malhotra for selecting our team to further build on his iconic publishing house and great successes.”

Shekhar Malhotra, Managing Director, Hind Pocket Books stated, “It is a great honour for us that this pioneering legacy is now in the reputed hands of Penguin Random House India. The Hind Pocket Books Group has nurtured some of the best local language publishing across decades, making available quality literature all over the country with its motto: Books for the Millions."

He went on to add, "In 1956, my father, D.N. Malhotra, founder of Hind Pocket Books, met with Sir Allen Lane (Founder, Penguin Books), the year Penguin was celebrating its 21st anniversary, and here began a great association between two imminent visionaries. It is only fitting that today our company chooses to  hand over its legacy to Penguin Random House India, under the inspired leadership of Markus Dohle and Gaurav Shrinagesh, who will build on this remarkable publishing programme and bring to the forefront our rich cultural heritage of literature and the arts.”

Gaurav Shrinagesh, Chief Executive Officer, Penguin Random House India said, “This is a landmark acquisition for Penguin Random House India, and reiterates our commitment and passion to grow publishing and readership in the region. Hind Pocket Books is a cultural icon and we are honoured to have been chosen by Shekhar Malhotra to continue the strong legacy his father and he have built."

He added, "We are delighted that Malhotra will be advising our team over the course of the next twelve months, as this will allow us to gain from his rich experience to further build a platform for original language publishing and translations.”